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Brown & Brown appoints Mathis as chief legal officer
Brown & Brown, Inc. (NYSE:BRO), the Florida–based parent of Syracuse–based Brown & Brown Empire State, recently announced it has appointed Robert Mathis as its chief legal officer. Mathis will also serve on the senior leadership team of the national insurance-brokerage firm. Before joining Brown & Brown, Mathis served as a senior VP for KBR, Inc., […]
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Brown & Brown, Inc. (NYSE:BRO), the Florida–based parent of Syracuse–based Brown & Brown Empire State, recently announced it has appointed Robert Mathis as its chief legal officer.
Mathis will also serve on the senior leadership team of the national insurance-brokerage firm.
Before joining Brown & Brown, Mathis served as a senior VP for KBR, Inc., where he had direct responsibility in the global energy, technology, and international government-services areas of the business. Mathis has also held various legal roles for both international and domestic organizations, including Holland & Knight LLP, Enron India Private Limited, Prisma Energy Europe Limited, Enron Corp, and Lockard Group. Mathis is a graduate of the University of Florida (bachelor’s and law degrees) and is an active and licensed member of the Florida Bar. He will be based at the Brown & Brown headquarters campus in Daytona Beach.
Brown & Brown, through its subsidiaries, offers a broad range of insurance products and related services. It has more than 15,000 employees and about 500 offices worldwide. The insurance-brokerage firm makes frequent acquisitions of insurance agencies a key part of its growth strategy.
Brown & Brown Empire State is headquartered at 500 Plum St. in Syracuse’s Franklin Square area. It also has an office in Vestal.
VIEWPOINT: It’s not about growing old; it’s about how you grow old
More Americans than ever are growing older and healthier these days. Consider the fact that, on average, we were lucky if we lived past 47 years of age at the beginning of the 20th century. Yet nowadays most men and women in the U.S. can look forward to celebrating birthdays well into their 70s. In
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More Americans than ever are growing older and healthier these days. Consider the fact that, on average, we were lucky if we lived past 47 years of age at the beginning of the 20th century. Yet nowadays most men and women in the U.S. can look forward to celebrating birthdays well into their 70s. In fact, the New England Centenarian Study at Boston University tells us that the number of people who make it past their 100th birthday has just about doubled over the past two decades.
To be sure, the COVID pandemic has taken its toll, causing an increased mortality rate in general among the elderly, as well as a time out when it comes to expanded life spans. Not long ago, the Washington Post reported that “unlike flu, which impacts both the very young and the very old, the coronavirus appears to put mostly older people at higher risk of severe disease and death.”
Going forward, the question is: will life expectancy in the U.S. resume its growth in the future. It most likely will, say the experts. But it is not because medical science is on a quest for immortality; rather, the goal is to alleviate the illnesses that come with aging. As the website, Lifespan.io, put it: “The immune system keeps us safe from the constant invasion of viruses, bacteria, and other pathogens, helping us to stay healthy and free from diseases. However, the immune system begins to break down as we get older and we become ever more vulnerable to diseases and infections. To solve this problem, scientists are exploring therapies to regenerate the immune system so that it is better able to fight back against diseases as it did in youth.”
According to the National Library of Medicine, the risk factors of aging are the human pathologies such as cancer, diabetes, cardiovascular disorders, and neurodegenerative diseases. “Aging research has experienced an unprecedented advance over recent years, particularly with the discovery that the rate of aging is controlled, at least to some extent, by genetic pathways and biochemical processes conserved in evolution … the final goal [is] identifying pharmaceutical targets to improve human health during aging with minimal side-effects.”
What it all comes down to is what Abraham Lincoln allegedly said: “In the end, it’s not the years in your life that count. It’s the life in your years.”
John Grimaldi writes for the Association of Mature American Citizens (AMAC), a senior-advocacy organization with 2.4 million members. He is a is a founding member of the board of directors of Priva Technologies, Inc.
Northland continues its growth track, creating new positions
SYRACUSE, N.Y. — Northland Communications, a Central New York–based telecommunications provider, recently announced that it continues to create new positions and add more employees. Northland Communications says it has consistently grown to meet current and prospective customer growth over the last couple of years. The company is projecting increasing its workforce by an additional 12.5
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SYRACUSE, N.Y. — Northland Communications, a Central New York–based telecommunications provider, recently announced that it continues to create new positions and add more employees.
Northland Communications says it has consistently grown to meet current and prospective customer growth over the last couple of years. The company is projecting increasing its workforce by an additional 12.5 percent this year.
“We’ve added quite a few positions, with the goal of meeting demand and setting ourselves up for future success operationally,” Theresa Jalowiec, VP of people and talent at Northland Communications, said in a news release. “Between evolving technology and extending our expertise, we are thrilled to be part of the economic growth of our communities.”
The release also announced a couple new employees that Northland recently added as part of its growth. Northland Communications welcomed Patrick Creedon, a provisioning specialist, and Kucjok Ater, a network operations center (NOC) technician, to the company. Northland also announced that Lenny Racquet has transitioned from his role as a cabling specialist to a lineman.
Creedon works to process orders and interfaces with technicians, customers, and vendors regarding due dates and cutover procedures, while Ater helps troubleshoot service issues and resolve any customer concerns. Racquet now works with Northland’s line crew, constructing both aerial and buried infrastructure for Northland’s dedicated fiber network across Central New York.
Northland Communi-cations offers cloud-based voice, data, and equipment services to businesses over its reliable fiber-optic network. It has offices in both Syracuse and Holland Patent.
SUNY to offer 150 students paid internships at five campuses this summer
ALBANY, N.Y. — Paid internships for 150 undergraduates are available at five state university campuses this summer through the SUNY Chancellor’s Summer Research Excellence Fund. The campuses include Binghamton University, SUNY College of Environmental Science and Forestry in Syracuse, and SUNY Polytechnic Institute in Marcy, SUNY Chancellor John King, Jr. announced April 12. This will
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ALBANY, N.Y. — Paid internships for 150 undergraduates are available at five state university campuses this summer through the SUNY Chancellor’s Summer Research Excellence Fund.
The campuses include Binghamton University, SUNY College of Environmental Science and Forestry in Syracuse, and SUNY Polytechnic Institute in Marcy, SUNY Chancellor John King, Jr. announced April 12.
This will be the first year of a paid-internship program that’s expected to grow in the number of campuses and students participating after this pilot, SUNY said.
The internship program will expand research opportunities to students with financial need, first-generation students, and others who may face barriers to “securing research experiences.”
Besides Binghamton, SUNY ESF, and SUNY Poly, the participating campuses also include the University at Buffalo and Stony Brook University.
“Every student should have the opportunity to participate in an internship or other experiential learning on their path to a college degree, and through this internship program students will be offered a robust experience right from their home campus and at no additional cost,” King said in a SUNY news release. “Expanding paid summer research internships is a concrete, powerful way to expand economic opportunity and increase social mobility especially for so many college students whose economic or familial circumstances might have barred them in the past.”
The SUNY Chancellor’s Summer Research Excellence Fund, which is supported by SUNY’s Empire Innovation program, covers all student costs for the internship including, “but not limited to,” student stipend/salary, tuition/fees, housing, meal plans, childcare, and transportation, per SUNY.
“We’re thrilled to be part of this pilot program, which will give underserved students access to opportunities in today’s leading fields of research,” Binghamton University President Harvey Stenger said in the release. “[Artificial intelligence (AI)], cybersecurity, nursing — these things matter and will only become more important in the future, and we’re proud to help facilitate the growth of tomorrow’s researchers and problem-solvers.”
LGS SPOTLIGHT: Joelene Orlando, Executive Director, Whole Me, Inc.
LGS Class of 2022 Hometown: Seneca Falls Home today: Auburn Pride & Vision What makes you proud to be a Syracusan? While I do not live in Syracuse, I love it. I grew up as a huge Syracuse University fan (football, basketball, lacrosse). In the last six years, as a member of the Whole Me, Inc. team,
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LGS Class of 2022
Hometown: Seneca Falls
Home today: Auburn
Pride & Vision
What makes you proud to be a Syracusan?
While I do not live in Syracuse, I love it. I grew up as a huge Syracuse University fan (football, basketball, lacrosse). In the last six years, as a member of the Whole Me, Inc. team, I have become so fond of Syracuse, the community, and what it has to offer. I have become immersed in Syracuse even more in my role as the executive director, and every day I meet someone new and learn new things about how vibrant the area is.
Envision our community at its best. What does a thriving community look like to you?
I believe in inclusion for all. A true community is about making each individual the best version of themselves and how they can contribute and expose their culture, values and the sense of belonging. We are all human from all different walks of life and if we only open our minds to understand and accept everyone, then we become united, stronger, and our community can be a thriving hub for all.
About Your Community Work
How do you help strengthen our community?
Our organization provides programs and services for deaf and hard-of-hearing individuals — from newborns to seniors. Our mission is to educate and provide cultural resources for the community about the deaf community at large. I believe that our presence and outreach has helped inform many businesses, organizations, and other entities about the importance of inclusion for deaf people. A big help was my involvement with the LGS Class of 2022 as I required interpreters for my participation. This opened the bridge to understanding the importance of communication access. Without that, I would have missed out on this leadership opportunity. It opened up many doors in networking in various capacities, such as employment opportunities for deaf people, providing interpreters for recreational events in Central New York, and individuals registering for American Sign Language Classes/Deaf Culture 101. We all have a part to make our communities better. As leaders, it is our responsibility to recognize needs in the community and how important it is for everyone to have the same opportunities to participate in life regardless of culture, disability, or race.
Causes Supported
What causes, issues, or organizations do you actively support?
I am involved in the Thanksgiving/Christmas Project, where we provide meals and gifts for families going through cancer and/or have terminal prognosis in the Auburn community. We receive donations from the community to make this possible. I am also involved with Camp Mark 7, located in the Adirondacks, as a volunteer. It is a camp for deaf children, as well as children of deaf adults. As a person that considers herself a helper, I have always had a passion for helping others and have been involved on some boards throughout my 35-year career. These include the Special Olympics, Mental Health Advisory Board, Parent/Teacher Association, and coordinating the New York State Hockey Tournament — to name a few.
ABOUT LGS
LGS memory: What was the most important thing you learned during LGS?
I learned about different organizations and businesses in Central New York that I was not even aware of, and most importantly, I now know 52 more people in my network. That is something money cannot buy. I consider myself very lucky to have had this experience with LGS. And I believe I brought new awareness to the table about deaf culture and inclusion, including the importance of sign-language interpreters. This experience opened my eyes and helped me feel more comfortable in my role as an executive director.
CenterState CEO seeking applicants for new Syracuse Surge Accelerator
SYRACUSE, N.Y. — Those interested have until the end of May to apply for involvement in CenterState CEO’s Syracuse Surge Accelerator. Announced April 17, it’s a program that seeks to “address the lack of diversity in the technology industry.” Specifically, the initiative seeks to empower Black-Indigenous-Persons of Color (BIPOC) entrepreneurs to launch and accelerate new
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SYRACUSE, N.Y. — Those interested have until the end of May to apply for involvement in CenterState CEO’s Syracuse Surge Accelerator.
Announced April 17, it’s a program that seeks to “address the lack of diversity in the technology industry.”
Specifically, the initiative seeks to empower Black-Indigenous-Persons of Color (BIPOC) entrepreneurs to launch and accelerate new or existing tech-related startups within the city of Syracuse.
“The Syracuse Surge Accelerator is an inclusive, dynamic tech program with the focused resources and tools BIPOC startup founders need to grow and thrive,” Emad Rahim, Syracuse Surge entrepreneurship manager at CenterState CEO, said. “We know there are significantly few tech startups with minority founders. Through this program we seek to drive change and create opportunities for those innovators to turn their ideas into businesses right here in Syracuse, New York.”
Today, fewer than 25 percent of tech startups in the U.S. have founders of color. Rahim explained the goal of the accelerator program is to “help remove the structural and cultural barriers that make it more difficult for a minority to enter the tech industry.”
Over the course of the 12-month experience, entrepreneurs will have access to the programming and resources at CenterState CEO’s Tech Garden.
The Syracuse Surge Accelerator will provide entrepreneurs with “culturally competent” programming as well as capital during the various stages of their development, “contributing to the city-wide Syracuse Surge initiative,” CenterState CEO said.
Applicants are encouraged to submit an electronic application by May 31 by visiting the Syracuse Surge Accelerator section of the CenterState CEO website.
CenterState CEO and the Syracuse Surge Accelerator program will select and announce qualified applicants in mid-June. The first cohort will begin the program in August.
The City of Syracuse, Onondaga County, CenterState CEO and the JP Morgan Chase Foundation announced the Syracuse Surge in 2019 as a “new strategy to position the city as a destination for inclusive growth for minority, women, veteran and disabled owned (XBE) tech businesses in the New Economy,” per the CenterState CEO announcement. Their efforts plan to “position Syracuse as an inclusive and emerging market” for business, technology and innovation.
OPINION: SUNY ending its vaccine mandate is a big win for N.Y.
I am pleased to see the State University of New York (SUNY) college system ended its outdated COVID-19 vaccine mandate, which had created confusion and frustration for students across the state. The decision came a day after President Joe Biden announced the official end of the nation’s emergency response, but it should not have taken
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I am pleased to see the State University of New York (SUNY) college system ended its outdated COVID-19 vaccine mandate, which had created confusion and frustration for students across the state.
The decision came a day after President Joe Biden announced the official end of the nation’s emergency response, but it should not have taken nearly that long as the true emergency ended long ago. With the decision to finally align the state’s policy response with reality, we can once again allow our state’s college campuses to return to normal.
Outside of the symbolically important step of dropping the mandate, I am especially happy future New York State Pathways in Technology (NYS P-Tech) program high-school students, who have an opportunity to hone their trades at higher-education campuses, are no longer at risk of having their education disrupted by this confusing mandate. Under the SUNY COVID mandate, faculty members were allowed on campus without vaccination and high-school students were allowed in their traditional classrooms without vaccination, but P-Tech students attending on-campus instruction were prohibited.
This made little sense and created unneeded stress and anxiety for the students. In fact, after hearing many complaints from families in my district, I reached out to SUNY Chancellor John B. King to highlight the issue and encourage him to remedy this discrepancy.
Our Assembly Minority Conference has advocated for a post-pandemic plan that mirrors the actual severity of the risk to the public. The time for emergency protocols and vaccine mandates ended many months ago, and it is unfortunate it took so long for us to get to this point. For that reason, we have also advocated for stronger protections against the abuse of emergency executive powers and for a better balance of power in the immediate aftermath of a public-health crisis. I sincerely hope the lessons learned from the COVID-19 pandemic help shape a more effective public health plan going forward.
[The recent SUNY] announcement is welcome news for students and an important milestone in our return to pre-pandemic norms. It is also an important reminder we must do better in the future. New York was not prepared for a public-health crisis like the one we experienced in 2020. As legislators and representatives of the public’s interest, we must take this opportunity to strengthen our future responses with effective, timely, and common-sense-driven policies. Anything short of that is a disservice to those who suffered the worst of the COVID-19 pandemic.
William (Will) A. Barclay, 54, Republican, is the New York Assembly minority leader and represents the 120th New York Assembly District, which encompasses all of Oswego County, as well as parts of Jefferson and Cayuga counties.
OPINION: New York Laws Should Catch Up to Plastics-Recycling Technology
New York state is well-positioned to dramatically improve its plastics-recycling rate, if its lawmakers follow the science. Only 10 percent of plastics get recycled and that is unacceptably low. The landfills in New York are reaching capacity and there are few options for the garbage to go. What doesn’t end up in landfills within the
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New York state is well-positioned to dramatically improve its plastics-recycling rate, if its lawmakers follow the science.
Only 10 percent of plastics get recycled and that is unacceptably low. The landfills in New York are reaching capacity and there are few options for the garbage to go. What doesn’t end up in landfills within the state is usually either incinerated or shipped to another state at great expense to New York taxpayers. Mechanical recycling helps alleviate this issue for many rigid plastics, such as soda bottles and milk jugs, but those facilities can’t handle the majority of the most common plastics we use today, like films, wraps, and bags.
But there’s a big opportunity to turn this around thanks to technological advancements.
Science has come a long way in recent years. Cutting-edge “advanced recycling” technology is capable of recycling much of the remaining 90 percent of plastics by breaking them down to their molecular level, allowing reclaimed plastics to be repurposed into a wide range of new products.
Right now, leading plastic and packaging manufacturers are partnering with advanced recycling providers to produce products as diverse as Nalgene bottles, Tupperware, Wendy’s and McDonald’s drink cups, Herbal Essences shampoo/conditioner bottles, Warby Parker eyeglasses frames, Mattel playsets, Ethicon medical device packaging — the list goes on. And that’s not to mention growing interest in using advanced recycling in the building and construction process — like GreenMantra Technologies, which uses advanced recycling to create industrial waxes that act as performance enhancers in asphalt roofing, roads, and pipes.
Today, 22 states have recognized advanced recycling as an important part of the solution to this crisis. All told, it’s estimated that the more than $6 billion of investments announced in the United States since 2017 can divert more than 15 billion pounds of plastic waste from landfills annually. And the environmental benefits of keeping that waste out of landfills extend beyond the obvious. According to a report last year from the City College of New York (CCNY), for example, advanced recycling can reduce energy use by up to 97 percent compared to landfilling, in turn reducing carbon emissions.
Additionally, a 2021 report from Good Company, a sustainability consulting firm, found that air emissions at typical advanced recycling facilities are about equal to or lower than those from many hospitals and colleges.
New York has an opportunity to be a leader in plastics recycling, and that could be good news for both our environment and our economy.
Unfortunately, there are groups like Beyond Plastics, backed by billionaires, peddling misinformation to lawmakers and the public about advanced recycling. They claim it is incineration (it’s not — ash doesn’t make plastic) and carbon intensive (see CCNY report, one of many that found reduced emissions compared to other end-of-life options). It’s important to remember the goal of groups like this is to end plastics writ large, even though that would have significant environmental consequences, rather than find solutions.
Adopting advanced recycling legislation in New York could help pave the way for some of the most important investments in the state’s green economy. Advanced recycling facilities can take thousands of tons of used plastic per year to remake into new plastics. Converting just 25 percent of recoverable plastics in New York to plastic feedstocks and other products could support 16 advanced recycling facilities — capable of processing 400,000 tons of plastics a year.
All this recycling could create hundreds — and eventually thousands — of new green-collar jobs and upwards of $500 million in new economic activity annually. And that’s in addition to the savings for New York taxpayers, who currently pay hundreds of millions of dollars a year for the state’s existing recycling facilities. Advanced recycling centers, by contrast, would be privately funded.
We’ve all heard a lot over the last few years about the importance of following the science. It’s time we did that when it comes to our waste crisis. Science has given us the tools we need to solve it. Let’s use them.
Joshua Baca is VP of plastics at the American Chemistry Council.
Seneca Savings has hired KEN JARDIN as VP and commercial loan officer. He has worked in the banking industry since 1983, holding leadership positions in commercial and retail banking at HSBC, M&T, and Solvay Bank. Jardin also possesses years of experience in business and consumer product management for upstate New York at Fleet Bank/Bank of
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Seneca Savings has hired KEN JARDIN as VP and commercial loan officer. He has worked in the banking industry since 1983, holding leadership positions in commercial and retail banking at HSBC, M&T, and Solvay Bank. Jardin also possesses years of experience in business and consumer product management for upstate New York at Fleet Bank/Bank of America. Jardin knows and is invested in the local business landscape and will seek to further bolster Seneca Savings as a go-to local bank for small businesses and mid-sized business. Prior to moving to Seneca Savings, Jardin oversaw commercial banking for Onondaga County at a local credit union in East Syracuse.
Microscope, a health-care consultancy with headquarters in Syracuse, has hired KAMARAH CAVEN as a senior consultant within its financial and operational performance service lines. Caven received her bachelor’s and master’s degrees in accounting from the University at Buffalo. Prior to joining Microscope, she held several financial, operational, and auditing positions — both in private and
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Microscope, a health-care consultancy with headquarters in Syracuse, has hired KAMARAH CAVEN as a senior consultant within its financial and operational performance service lines. Caven received her bachelor’s and master’s degrees in accounting from the University at Buffalo. Prior to joining Microscope, she held several financial, operational, and auditing positions — both in private and public accounting. Caven is a certified public accountant.
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